The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-04-23
the cowBoY CODE.



in up in this here Territory, an
I've done more'n any other man to
help it along"
The speaker, James Horn, late
cowboy and now manager Of cat
tie ranch on the Animas river in
Rio Arriba county, looked around
the room with conscious dignity,
as his six or eight cowboy friends
laughed derisively at his compla-
cent remark. Mr.. Horn is long
drawn out, both as to limbs and
conversation, and for some occult
cowboy reason is universally called
Buckhorn," regardless of his bap-
tismal designation, which every
body says doesn't fit his patrony-
mic anyhow.
The boys laughed, because they
remembered that when Buckhorn
was common everyday cowboy
Just two weeks ago-he bore the
reputation of being hard rider, a
still harder drinker and a straight
and sudden shooter. Indeed, he is
the one man who ever got the drop
on the late Billy the Kid and lived
to tell about it.
BILLY's FATE.
"Billv was travelin' on his
shape" Buckhorn was wont to re-
max in commenting upon the Incl
dent, can really didn't seem to
think wuth while to hurry 'hisself
in puIlin' his gun on me. When l
kivered him he caved-Billy knew
lots-an' pulled his teeth afore |
let him 90. If Pat Garrett hadn't
filled him full of lead the next week
down in Lincoln, l might a been
No. 26 on Billy's dead list"
"CQme, Buckhorn, | s'pose you
will want to tell us you're law
abidin' citizen" derisively remarked
Pete, otherwise Nubbins Carhart.
Nubbins had been Buckhorn's rival
for promotion TO the managership,
however, and he was notoriously
Jealous. So the leader of the anti
llvnching movement looked straight
into the fire until the silence was
broken by "Grover Cleveland" as
cowboy Pete Marshall is invariably
called. Mr.. Marshall used to be
Deputy Sheriff of Lincoln county,
and became President of a cowboy
debating society.
"Come Buckhorn," he said after
a long delay, "Tell us how you
fought agin' lynchin'."
WELL" began the old man, a
few weeks ago l was down to the
Animas river ranch and found the
bows were frettin' cause old Tom
Jennings had been killed and they
I wasn't quite sure who did it. You
see they hadn't had any fun for a
fortnit' an it riled 'em like to be
cheated out'n a lynchin'. You
know that little settlement on the
Animas amt very big when the
census-taker sizes it up, but it's as
big as all creation when the boys
want it to be. When | got there
they told me that they had heerd q
couple O. shots from old Tom s
DOLBY two night afore an had trot-
ted over to see if thar wuz a fight
on. But Mess Tom and low-lived
cuss named Canton, who was SAID
to be Jest little too particularly
perlite to the woman, appeared an
said as how Canton had fired twice
at a coyote an missed it. The
bows never did like Canton, so they
as ted him why he hadn't run ou
an ketched the critter. AS they
was ridin' away the Perfessor-
YOU know that New Yorker who
learned a little bit at college an
came out here an learned lots
we'll, he up an swore he had hear'
groan in Jennings cabin. Th'
BOYS told him he wuz a liar an al
went back to poker.
THE OMEN OF DEATH.
"Well, the next day Old Ton
did not turn up in the settlemen
to get a drink, so everybody sal'
he was sick. Toward midday o
the second day the barkeeper il
3 Johnny Porter's pizin ranch sal!
Old Tom hadn't been in for a drlnl
for forty-eight hours. OF cours
the boys knowed Old Tom wa
dead then an so they commence
= to look for the corpse. Sur
enough, they found it buried in
ditch. There was a hole in tn
back of his head, where chun
!. of lead had gone in.
"Well, got there just as tn
: boys was gettin' ready to scare
Old Toms house and investigat
the widder and Canton. 1t didn'
! take us long to find blood mark
inside the house, an We likewis
cotched Canton a-visiting Mr.
Jennings. That settled it. In
= bows said sech conduct was unb'
coming a brand-new widder. ;
we arrested 'em in the name OF tn
law, an by keepin' 'em apart al
, lynn to 'em sum we soon mao
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